High Tech News and Information for Southern California

Thursday, February 21, 2013Investment Group of Santa Barbara Backs MindflashThe Investment Group of Santa Barbara is the primary backer of a developer of online training software for corporations, which announced a funding round Thursday. Mindflash, a Silicon Valley-based developer of online software for learning management and developing corporate training, said it raised $3.5M during 2012 from the Investment Group of Santa Barbara. Mindflash develops software used by such companies as McDonalds and Lufthansa, to create online courses based on existing content, for em (More info...)

Insights and Opinions: 13 Tips For Tech Startup FoundersFor our Insights and Opinions section today, Sean Callahan--who co-founded Plixi, and is now working on SlimSurveys--gives thirteen tips for tech startup founders. Sean is also author of Startup Field Guide, Mistakes To Avoid, Tips to Get Ahead, documenting what he's learned over his time in the startup world.

Building a successful tech startup in Southern California isn't easy, but it's sure a beautiful place to start your next venture. The region has it's own set of challenges because i (More info...)

Xirrus Raises $10.1M More
Xirrus, the wireless hardware provider based in Thousand Oaks, has just raised $10.1M in a funding round, part of an ongoing $11.0M funding, according to a regulatory filing by the company. Details on the funding have not yet been announced by the company. Xirrus, which is backed by August Capital, Canaan Partners, InterWest Partners, QuestMark Partners, and US Venture Partners, last announced a funding round back in September. The regulatory filing said that Xirrus will be using the new funds (More info...)

PaeDae Debuts System To Help Mobile App Developers Find New UsersOne of the biggest issues facing mobile application developers today, is finding new users among a gigantic sea of applications. A Los Angeles-based startup, PaeDae, is looking to change that with a new platform it is calling BARTR, which it says will let mobile app developers exchange traffic and users.

The new service harkens back to the "link exchanges" and "link networks" that grew during the beginning of the Internet age, where different websites would barter credits (earned from traffic (More info...)

Broadcom Ties With Norton On Home Gateway Security
Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom said this week that it has tied with Norton by Symantec, the provider of security software, to integrate Norton's security technology into a series of 5G, Wi-Fi home routers. According to the two, they are in a partnership where Norton's security technology will be embedded in Broadcom's BCM4708x series of 5G WiFi (802.11ac) home router platforms. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The two companies said that Broadcom's home router platforms w (More info...)

Snapchat Debuts Video On AndroidSnapchat, the Venice Beach-based startup which has been taking the mobile world by storm with its "self destructing" mobile photos, has just officially launched video into its Android app, just days after announcing a Series A funding round. SnapChat, which has been offering up its Android application for the last four months for photos, said it has now added video on the software, letting users send video snapshots to their friends via the app. Snapchat warned that video feed and playback can " (More info...)

Special Report: Who's Funding What, Really?There's been a lot of talk about the boom in Southern California's startup world. Driven by success in the sector, accelerators, serial entrepreneurs, and more, there are more startups starting and relocating here than ever. However, local startups still tell us that it can be difficult to find an investor for their company, particularly beyond the seed and Series A rounds. In this special report, we've mined our extensive database of venture capital
and angel investment deals in Southern Cali (More info...)

AirHop In Deal With FreescaleSan Diego-based AirHop, the developer of software for enabling self-organizing, small cell base stations, has inked a deal with Freescale Semiconductor, the two companies announced this morning. According to the two, they are integrating Freescale's QorIQ Qonverge processors with AirHop's eSON self-organizing network software. AirHop's software is used to let small cell networks self-organize, handling the coordination and interaction between network cells. Financial details of the deal were not (More info...)

Boingo Expands In JapanBoingo Wireless, the Wi-Fi network operator based in Los Angeles, has expanded its presence in Japan, saying it has inked a deal with NTT Broadband Platform, Inc. to manage and operate the Wi-Fi services at five major airports in the country. Boingo said it will manage Wi-Fi services at Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport) (HND), Narita International Airport, Tokyo (NRT), New Chitose Airport, Sapporo (CTS), Fukuoka Airport (FUK), and Chubu Airport, Nagoya (NGO).

This one-day event will celebrate the diversity in technology companies to be found in Silicon Beach and broader Los Angeles by offering attendees a sampling of emerging and established companies from the region.

Twenty companies from the region will be on hand to show off their wares. Market segments include video, gaming, data, ad tech, e-commerce, mobile, and more.

Safire Partners Executive SearchSafire Partners has completed 150+ retained executive searches since 2006
working with emerging businesses in digital media, Internet, eCommerce,
software and clean technology across Southern California. Please visit
our website to see an updated list of our clients and searches completed
at http://www.safirepartners.com/. We are always interested in
meeting new candidates and potential clients, so feel free to email our
Managing Partner, Todd Gitlin at tg@safire.la. We can also always be a
friendly source for investor introductions and general market /
compensation intelligence.

Get the latest PwC SoCal MoneyTree Report!Are you interested in understanding the latest trends in venture capital
investments in Southern California? Want to know how the region did in
terms of venture capital in 2012? PwC has just posted the results of the
full year of Southern California venture deals, in its Shaking The MoneyTree 2012 presentation and update from HJ Paik, Director, Emerging Company Services

Ventura Ventures Technology Center (V2TC) - Business IncubatorThe Ventura Ventures Technology Center (V2TC) is a high-tech business incubator located in downtown Ventura, CA. V2TC offers a creative environment where high-tech start-ups and entrepreneurs can network, brainstorm, and grow their business. Work-spaces are affordable, flexible and scalable in order to allow companies the ability to manage their growth effectively and efficiently.